With farmers still having difficulty selling pigs, many businesses in HCM City have stepped up programmes to stimulate pork demand.

Vissan Co., Ltd is offering discounts of up to 49 per cent on VietGap type 1 pork from June 11 to 15 at all of its fresh meat sales points including at its shops, Saigon Co.op’s retail system, Vinmart supermarkets, Vinmart+, Satrafoods, Aeon Citimart, Giant Hypermarket, Auchan, Cocomart, Queenland mart, HQC Mart, and My Duc.

With the discounts, the prices are down to VND40,000 a kilogramme for pork chops, VND62,000 for thighs, VND57,000 for shoulders, VND66,000 for minced pork, VND31,500 for pork spine and so on.

From June 12 to 15 the company is also implementing a programme to sell cuts of pork at just VND25,500-36,000 a kilogramme depending on type.

Dang Thi Phuong Ninh, the company’s deputy general director, said more than 530 tonnes of pork were sold in the period between June 6 and 10, when the company cut VietGap type 1 pork prices by 30-42 per cent, an increase of more than 51 per cent over normal, with the increase reaching 130 per cent on some days.

A programme to sale retail pork at wholesale prices by An Ha Services Co., Ltd this month has been very successful in stimulating demand for the products of pig farmers in Cu Chi and Hoc Mon Districts.

Nguyen Thi Hong Tham, director of An Ha, said within a week VietGap pigs weighing 120kg were sold out.

Now the company has started to sell animals weighing 90-100kg, and sells around 40 a day, and 70 on occasions, she said.

The number of customers has increased so much that its sale points have to issue tokens, she said.

Many customers want the company to open shops in other locations so that they do not have to travel long distances, but the company lacks the space and human resources for that, she said.

According to experts, the response of consumers and the active support provided by city businesses would help resolve the difficulties faced by pig farmers. — VNS